Bush Adm. Should Implement Gilmore Commission Proposal.

Today, the term "asymmetric threat" has become synonymous with "terrorism." In addition to what many would consider conventional terrorist activities--such as assassination, kidnapping, and bombing--the United States now faces the threat of attacks using chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear, and high yield conventional explosives (CBRNE) weapons of mass destruction (WMD).

The challenge of defending the nation against asymmetric threats is daunting, but surmountable. The new administration should consider adopting the recommendations of the Gilmore Commission to hasten the country's preparation for such an eventuality.

Congress, meanwhile, can do its part by resurrecting and passing H.R. 4210, The Preparedness Against Terrorism Act of 2000. H.R. 4210 contains many of the elements and recommendations of the Gilmore Commission Report. During the summer of 2000, H.R. 4210 was passed by the House but died in the Senate.

The Gilmore Commission was established by Congress and chaired by Virginia Gov. James Gilmore. In its December 2000 report, the panel called on the new administration to develop a national strategy for fighting terrorism and establish the National Office for Combating Terrorism (NOCT) in the executive office of the president. The Gilmore Commission reports can be accessed via the Internet at http://wxvw.rand.org/organization/nsrd/terrpanel/.

As described in the report, the NOCT office would oversee the development of a national strategy for combating terrorism, coordinate and review programs and budgets of the federal agencies involved with combating terrorism and identify conflicts and duplications among federal entities. Most importantly, the office would administer a budget certification/decertification process for federal agencies to insure program accountability and compatibility.

Some argue against the establishment of a NOCT, saying that the capability and authority already resides:

* Within the Department of Justice, since the FBI is the lead federal agency for crisis management, or

* Within the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which is the lead federal agency for consequence management.

However, the domestic focus of both these agencies makes them unsuitable for combating a problem that is both domestic and transnational. The idea of the Defense Department as lead agency for combating terrorism is publicly unacceptable and politically unpalatable, and rightly so. This option smells of martial law and the Reconstruction Era, subsequent to the Civil War, a dark period in U.S. history that brought no credit to the military or the civilian government. The Pentagon currently supports all emergency functions of the federal response plan and should remain in just such a role.

The NOCT would include the highest levels of people from local and state responder and emergency management organizations as well as professional organizations associated with fire, law enforcement and medical services.

Many pieces of the puzzle are already in place, requiting only the overarching organizational framework. Arguably, the requirement to equip and train response organizations to perform the consequence management mission after a WMD attack is the greatest challenge the United States faces.

Several agencies already are addressing the challenge by either congressional mandate, executive direction or on their own accord. The office of state and local domestic support programs at the Justice Department provides a funding mechanism and grant assistance to local and state response organizations for the purchase of systems and specific items of equipment to enhance their capabilities to respond to an attack.

The Army's Soldier, Biological, Chemical Command used to provide training and loan military chemical defense equipment to many cities. That mission has now been assumed by the Justice Department. The command's laboratories also conduct test and evaluation of military and commercial chemical detectors, as well as personal protective equipment for use against chemical warfare agents and toxic industrial chemicals.

The Defense Department's consequence management program integration office (CoMPIO) was formed to organize, equip and train Reserve Component units to support first responders. These units include the National Guard Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Teams and existing Army Reserve and National Guard Chemical units, specially prepared to provide reconnaissance and mass casualty decontamination support.

The CoMPIO subsequently teamed with the Marine Corps' program manager (PM) for NBC, at Marine Corps Systems Command, to equip the units. PM Marine/NBC provides research, development, test and evaluation, and acquisition services for the Marine Chem/Bio Incident Response Force (CBIRF), which is dedicated to consequence management.

PM Marine/NBC formed the defense consequence management systems office (DCMSO). The DCMSO has developed a plan to provide regional support, logistics, and emergency resupply of selected consumables and equipment to more than 200 units in 54 stares and territories.

The CoMPIO also teamed with the Special Operations Forces support activity to form the Defense Consequence Management Support Center (CoMSUPCEN). The center is a hub for integrated logistics support. It serves as a supply support activity for military and commercial equipment, kitting and shipping agent, and logistics operations center for units whether deployed or at home station.

The Interagency Board for Equipment Standardization and Interoperability (LAB) was established in 1998 by the Department of Justice and the Department of Defense as a local and state working group to develop and publish a standardized equipment list for response organizations.

The Department of Justice, the Department of the Army, Marine Corps Systems Command, and the Interagency Board each bring some of the elements to the table. Currently, these organizations interact with each other either informally, or through memoranda of agreement.

The National Office for Combating Terrorism could serve as the official umbrella to bring these and other organizations together in a codified manner to achieve the larger goal of ensuring that more local, state and federal response organizations are equipped and logistically sustained with the proper equipment necessary to respond to, identify and mitigate the effects of a WMD attack.

Charles R. Bell is the chief of the Defense Consequence Management Systems Office, Program Manager Marine/NBC, Marine Corps Systems Command, in Quantico, Va.